Imperial College Podcast

In this edition: 2023 in review, the first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel, and improving bone quality. News: Best of 2023 – We hear about some of the best quantum breakthroughs and how science has met art at Imperial in 2023, as told by our science communication interns. Sustainable aviation fuel flights – We talk to Dr Marc Stettler and Dr Roger Teoh, two of the researchers involved in the world’s first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel, made primarily of waste fats and cooking oil. The Imperial team helped assess the potential impact of such flights, including the formation of contrails. Bone up on bones – We catch up with the Bone Up podcast, which discusses everything about bones: how we make them, why we break them, and what we still don’t fully understand about them. In this clip, we hear about how improving diet and lifestyle can impact the quality of bones and help prevent fractures in the most vulnerable people.

In this edition: The latest climate science ahead of COP28, how COVID impacts pregnancy, and founding a MedTech startup. News: COP coming – We look ahead to the upcoming COP28 climate conference, and discuss a few recent Imperial studies on the carbon budget, warming beyond net zero, and avoiding overreliance on carbon removal technologies. COVID and pregnancy – We speak to Dr Victoria Male, who says that while pregnancy carries higher risk of complications from COVID-19, vaccination is extremely effective and safe for the baby, passing on immunity in the womb. Too Long; Don’t Listen – We hear from the TL;DL podcast, featuring inspiring stories to help people make career decisions. This excerpt features the founder of reproductive health startup Dama Health, Imperial alumna Paulina Cecula.

In this edition: We meet an Imperial alum who is now Head of Science at NASA, discuss the generational wealth gap and find out how to tackle TB. News: Is the generational wealth gap real? – We dig into a new report that finds evidence that there is more solidarity between generations than the “Millennials versus Boomers” narrative would suggest. NASA’s Head of Science – We sit down with Imperial physics alum, and now NASA Head of Science, Dr Nicky Fox, to find out which missions she’s excited about and how we can encourage more girls to take up physics. Tackling TB – We hear from Professor Nim Pathy about how TB patients in India can be empowered to seek proper care, how new technologies can help expand screening programmes, and what we need to do to make a new vaccine. This is an extract from JameelCast – a new podcast that explores where global disease and health overlap with other fields, including epidemiology, ecology, economics, and engineering.

In this edition: How getting ready for bed is hard-wired, how clothing dyes can be recycled, and what we can do about data bias in AI. News: Getting ready for bed – When mice are sleepy, they make a safe nest, and now researchers have discovered the brain wiring that controls this instinct both in mice and likely in ourselves. Making fashion greener – We talk to the people behind DyeRecycle – an Imperial startup that uses a new chemical process to recover dyes and colours from waste textiles, vastly reducing the water and energy use of the industry. The team recent secured an H&M Foundation Global Change Award. Data bias in AI – We listen in to the Science Actually podcast as they chat data bias in AI – discussing questions including can we eliminate biases, how much should we blame big tech, and what can we do about the issue?